Elated Community Welcomes New Torah to Harlem

The streets of Central Harlem were filled with music and dancing Sunday as, for the first time in almost a century, a new Sefer Torah was welcomed to the neighborhood’s Chabad Shul.  The last time a similar event occurred was during the Great Depression.

More than 100 people attended the joyous event. “It was amazing,” Rabbi Yossel Gansbourg of Chabad of Harlem said.  “We had the siyum Sefer Torah, the truck with the music and there was dancing.  People kept coming out with their kids to see what was going on. There were people taking out their camera taking pictures.  There were people who came out and were dancing with us.  I don’t know who they were.  I don’t even know if they were Jewish or not but it was a very positive experience.”

Rabbi Gansbourg, who lives in Harlem with his wife Mushka and his 16 month old baby, describes the area, which features low rents and is extremely close to Midtown, as comprised of many unaffiliated, traditional and intermarried couples, many of whom are of Israeli origin.  He estimates that there are currently 130 families who are affiliated with Chabad of Harlem.

The Sefer Torah project was the brainchild of his father, who passed away at age 57 before he could see his dream become a reality.

“We had been using a Sefer Torah from Crown Heights and in the beginning we even took it back and forth every week, but he wanted to have one that was written for our community,” said Rabbi Gansbourg.

With many community members contributing to the cost of the Sefer Torah, Rabbi Gansbourg is confident that the new Torah will bring his congregants even closer to Yiddishkeit.